Nokia Introduces Bargain 5250 Smartphone With 2.8" Touch Screen

Nokia still has some ways to go before they can reasonably compete with
the iPhone 4 and the many other Android 2.x smartphones that are
shipping today, but one area where no one has really considered the
competition going is price. Pricing hasn't been a huge focal point for
smartphones in America; most are just assumed to start at around $200 on
contract. But that means these phones are upwards of $500 in terms of
non-contract pricing. Nokia is about to change the expectations with the
touch screen-based 5250.

This sleek new handset is just €115 without any carrier subsidies, which
means it would almost certainly be free on contract if it were offered
as such on a U.S. operator. The phone will ship in a variety of colors
and will include a 2.8" (640x360) ouch panel, Ovi Music Unlimited, a
free copy of Guitar Hero 5 Mobile, an FM radio tuner, 3.5mm headphone
jack, 2MP camera, a microSD card slot and social networking integration.

Of course, there's no 3G, and no Wi-Fi. There's also no GPS. But given
the price tag, we think the feature set is more than enough. The battery
is also capable of lasting up to 7 hours (talk time), and it's expected
to ship in Q4 in Europe.